I'm looking to buy some new wheels and seeing that it's been 18 years since my last purchase all the specs don't mean that much to me.
So, I'm after some recommendations from those in the know on what to buy. My budget is £250 which I know won't buy me something stellar but it will only be used on road and light tracks.

Ta.

I am a firm convert of the "29er" for recreational riding. Just rolls so fast and easy compared to my 26 wheel bike.

Walk into a proper bike shop and see what 2012 - 2013 stock they have in the corner. I got mine for your sort of budget and would have been triple for the newest model.

Look on internet e.g. wiggle and chain reaction as they may still have bikes in sale.

For your purpose you wont need rear suspension. Although the trend is for 29 in wheels, 26 in are perfrctly ok and you wilk find the equivalent 26 in wheeled bikrs cheaper, especially if you go on ebay as people swap to the larger wheels.

Ebay should see you double or even triple your money so you could br looking ay £ 600 ish bikes.

Rough guide to mtb frame size is 1/4 your height less 5 inches, that is important to get right.

Cant recommrnd a specific makr model but any of the big names wilk be finr. cube cannondale gt giant specialized scott kona....

I seem to remember a website called 'Paul cycles' that had good deals on last years models when I was looking for a new commute bike.

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/offers.php?cat=1

[Edited on 3/1/15 by Andybarbet]

At that money, Halfords isn't bad. I know everyone slags them off, but for affordable bikes you will struggle to beat them. The buying power they have for own brands means you can get a spec level up from the nearest branded bike. Just been looking at the Carrera Helcat for £299. 24 gears, Aluminium frame, 29" wheels etc. Many 'proper' bike shops don't do much under £400, mainly because there is an expectation it will be taken hard off-road, then the punter comes back after 12 months suffering problems. Avoid eBay unless you really know what you are doing and what to look for. Happy to help if you see anything as I'm only down the M65 from you. I've seen people get ebay bikes because it's a Trek/GT/Kona etc that was once £1500, yet now has a worn cassette, worn chainrings that cannot be changed 'cos things have moved on, creaky cranks etc. A minefield basically.
Agreed on the 29er thing. I have a Cube with 29" wheels and the speed when free wheeling is comedy. My mates are pedalling down hill and I just roll past with no effort.
Main point is, go and sit on it. It doesn't matter what the spec is, it's all how it feels. Make sure you have a good couple of inches between the top tube and your Crown Jewels when stood over the frame. I've ridden £4k carbon full suspension etc and they've felt poo compared to my bike at a 1/4 of the price.
It's a good time to buy, but be aware, at this price point, an extra £50 makes a big difference. Enjoy

Did a post but lost it :-(
With your budget and type of riding a hybrid may be better, the suspension forks on cheaper mtb's are often heavy and not particularly effective, bigger tyres not pumped rock solid on a hybrid will soak up most of the rattle from firm trails. You will probably appreciate the lightness of a hybrid going up hill if you are on the road more.
I've got a 29er MTB with mud tyres which is great, but for anything other than getting to muddy places a smoother tyred bike would be better.

Good luck with the hunt, some cracking deals out there.

The beauty with a 29er if you can find one for the budget is that, if you need to, you can put a set of 700c cyclocross or hybrid tyres on down to 35mm wide or so but the hybrids on really skinny rims and frame might not take the fat tyres if you need them.

Thanks for all your replies. I went a tiny bit over budget and bought a BeOne Spirit Sport.


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Looks quite good for that money i'd say. The fact that you've got fully branded drivetrain, brake system, etc is what i'd be looking for - and to be fair I wouldn't have expected you to get all that spec for that money.

I think hybrid bikes are a bit of 'neither one thing or the other' and by going for a mountain bike with a suspension fork you can at least go off-road properly with it. And if the cycling bug bites you'll quickly realise that the ideal number of bikes to own is always n+1 )